Pretty Praeda
by annabellefleur
Summary: What if the Dark Sister's hadn't been the first to find Miss Gray? And if Tessa were to arrive in London much more powerful (and witty) than anyone ever thought? Just what would happen if Tessa Gray was the strong one with a dark past, would she pretend to be innocent? R&R.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One:

"Tessie! Would you watch it, good Lord woman you nearly took off my head!" Nate seemed overly testy today compared to…well compared to his normal testy self. "How did I ever let you talk me into buying that, that _monstrosity_."

I rolled my eyes puffing out a short breathe to push my stray out of my face; of course seeing as how it was my hair it simply fell limply back into place; talk about a monstrosity. "Oh hush will you Nate."

"What I am serious one of these days when something terrible does happen you will end up hurting yourself simply trying to operate one of those…obscene death traps of yours."

I arched an eyebrow at his flushed face "Are you planning on getting into trouble Mr. Gray because if so I will need to stock up on much more 'death traps'."

He narrowed his eyes at me and opened his mouth to say something before he simply exhaled, threw his hands up in the air and stalked out the room; yelping slightly when I dropped a battle axe emanating a rather loud and imposing bang as it clattered to the floor.

"My apologies." I tipped my head as he shot me an icy glare and continued on his way. "Where are you going?" I called after him only to get a dismissive wave in return.

I chuckled, shaking my head and turning my skirts making their annoying swishing noise due to the heavy multitude of fabrics. I was wearing a pink silk dress with red and purple butterflies scattered aimlessly around the bodice, cuffs, and button hemline. I looked absolutely ridiculous in the thing but Nate had bought for me as a surprise one day when he had caught me in one of my stupors.

"Really Theresa when will you give this foolish nature of yours up; busying yourself with your _iocales_, you have no use for them." My body tensed as that damn thin cold feeling seeped into my bones, as would a warm cup of tea would warm you.

I turned tipped my head curtly and whispered "Supero Dominus Domino."

"Do return to me Theresa, I have missed you dearly." He smiled the way he used to smile at me to persuade me into doing something. It always worked.

_Back then._

My eyes shot to the floor away from his dark grey eyes; I could feel his frown wrap around me, his allure reach out into me coaxing me to look up at him. He was quite horribly handsome actually not to mention the fact that he was the only person who could single handedly bring me to my knees if he so choose, a flaw I was working on (and failing) overcoming.

"No." My voice was light and low, quiet almost as if the word hadn't wanted to be said or had wanted to be heard. I glanced up at Dominus my eyes searching his neutral face for any hint of anger of impatience.

His eyes glittered and narrowed just slightly; he stepped forward with that same calm smile plastered on his face and said "The house is just the same; _praeda_." I stepped back away from him as he leaned forward to touch my cheek; I hated when he called me that.

At my movement his eyes flashed with anger before settling onto cold orbs; they reminded me of how the sky would look in the ninth gate of hell; cold, unyielding, consuming, dead. "I have a home here." Again my voice was low almost apologetic; I felt pathetic in his presence not to mention dull in comparison.

"Enough!" His voice rose cracking the dull air around us, his authority evident in this tiny room, he stepped toward me and I stood this time perfectly still staring at his beautiful angelic face "This foolishness my praeda must stop this instant; you have a _home_." He spat out the word with disgust, rage flaring in his eyes making the grey dance and glitter in a cruel sort of way. "He's a mud-mouth have you forgotten that." His voice was sharp as a whip and cut me just as hard; I flinched just slightly "Have you even told him, of course not because he'll leave you; I am all you have, I am all you will ever have; you and me my praeda; it is a long life we lead-

"Whose fault is that!" The words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them, they were sharp and loud but most of all they were vicious. My hand cupped over my mouth as my eyes widened in shock; panic swelled inside me and before I could move Dominus' hand struck my face with enough power to rattle my teeth.

"I gave you a gift; a life, I gave you immortality at its best; I molded you and this, this is how you repay my graciousness?" He seemed astounded his always-musky black hair wild as he slapped me again. "You will come home now; to our home, your only home; are we understood." His voice rang with authority as his eyes blazed.

"I-

I wasn't sure what to say; how to act, what to do all I could think of was Nate and the horrible fight we had just had, he would come home from his brisk walk his nose rose red, cheeks flushed from the cold and smile sheepishly at me while discarding his overcoat on the velvet armchair in the living room; he would take a seat next to me on the over fluffed couch and kiss my cheek; he would apologize and give me a red rose because they were my favorite; then he would ruffle my hair and go up stairs muttering a goodnight and in the morning their would be waffles and little Dutch cakes waiting for me with a note that said 'Went to work Tessie, wire me or stop by when you decide what it is you want for dinner. With all my love, Nathanial.' There was nothing that I wanted more right now than that.

I swallowed the lump in my throat straightened my back and left my eyes downcast as I spoke slowly and carefully to Dominus "My deep apologeies Supero Dominus I was in no place to refuse your gracious offer." It wasn't an offer but it would allow me to be sane holding to the last tiny shred of self worth I pocessed.

Dominus grinned brilliantly at me almost seeming to light up the room thin wrinkles creasing around his eyes and mouth. That was the grin that had won me over; the grin that changed my life, that damned me.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two:

I shot out of my bed, puffs of uneven rigid panicked breaths escaping a pair of lungs that seemed to be under attack at the very moment. My heart was beating too fast and only seemed to be echoed by rapid tick, tick, tick, tick of the clockwork angel burning against his skin at the moment. My eyes blinked rapidly as I focused on where I was exactly yesterday had been hard, extremely hard. Dominus hadn't spared a second when we had gotten to the Villa overlooking the Mediterranean Sea that used to be able to calm my heart. We had gotten straight to work starting with shifting in a vampire; a dead vampire named Kline; I walked around the room, pranced, lunged, sprung, leaped, ran, and practiced talking, as he would have. The dead are much easier to tap into, because well they're dead they have no claim over their mangled soul; well they do but since they aren't exerting essence on earth it is easier for a shifter such as myself to grab hold of the thread and simply tug; you can adapt, shift, and mold yourself into the very essence that the subject was when they had been living.

It had taken far too long for me to process and intact the change; it shouldn't have but I had been out of practice for a year and when I say out of practice I mean I hadn't been practicing at all and Domnius noticed. He had swore and threw me a against a wall holding me there, hanging in the air my whole body clenched to submission for an hour while he sat a watched his handy work.

You see Dominus and I are Maji's a dead bred, we are the last two in existence mostly because we had killed each other; incredibly stupid; defiantly but that's the way things go right. Anyway Maji's are not like all the other creatures that seem to be crawling around earth lately, Maji's are powerful, you see we can see the fibers that extend and wrap around every little thing; it can be quite a burden actually in the beginning; because you see once a Maji is awaken, once a dormant Maji's power is awakened by another Maji than well you master that power and then you move on to the next power that must be inadvertently and quite painfully awakened as well. It is a long and horrid progress that really isn't worth the effort at all just to simply have all these new powers; it tends to take all the fun in life away.

A loud double knock sounded at my bronze metal door; I sighed just slighted and forced my body into a somewhat relaxed position. I could taste metal in my mouth from were the split in my lip had reopened over night and the thought of having to relive yesterday over and over again for a very long time only seemed to damper my mood further.

"Praeda." Dominus' voice came through the bronze door thin and rough almost as if he was upset or excited; I couldn't quite tell which at the moment.

"I am awake Supero Dominus, I shall be out in a moment if you'll please." I could feel his body stance outside the door; my senses automatically trained onto his every movement the way his feet were place to seem that he was perfectly at ease but the pressure he was emanating onto the ground told me that he was slightly annoyed already.

"Do hurry my sweet praeda; I am in no mood for your escapades today." With those words he turned swiftly the back of his leather shoes licking together as he walked with a hurried ease, the fibers in the marble floors absorbing his weight evenly. His feet turned swiftly making a left; which meant that he was heading towards the training room; or the front door however that option seemed highly unlikely.

I exhaled and let myself sink back into my pillows for a few moments before I forced my feet to swing out from under the silk sheets that seemed to stick to my body, the cold marble white floors made shivers run through my skin as I pushed myself up and walked towards my armoire and opened the doors sighing as I pulled out the only two things inside of it; a light white linen under dress and a more heavier grey bland tunic.

Slipping into the both of those I pushed my sore feet into the Chinese velvet slippers Dominus had brought me back from Shangri two winters ago.

I walked past my bronze silk bedding and elaborate metal bed posts towards my large metal door; my room was large enough but held no mementos, nothing that told a story about me; I had once had a silver heart sitting on my old wooden night table along with three stray novels that I had been given as a reward but when I ran away they had been burnt.

I pushed opened the door walked calmly, retracing the footfalls left in the fibers from Dominus to the exact timing and pace in which he had first token them and turning left I pushed the sliding wooden door that would lead to the training room.

I took a heavy sharp breath as I felt it just a second too late.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three:

With all the suddenness of wind I was pushed back against one of the black stonewalls slamming into one of Dominus' prized paintings shattering the glass. The pressure crushing around my chest made it all at once my once even calm breaths come out in short shallow painful gasps. As I fought to disentangle the air particles that Dominus had tightened and manipulated to form the indivisible ball of hard compacted air that had knocked me back into the wall.

I could just barely make out Dominus' smug annoyed face as it twisted into a self-satisfied smile; anger swelled inside me and before I could realize what I was doing I was melting away; my fibers that I had grown so use to always being there were suddenly gone, they were their one moment and then the next they were disappearing slipping away from my grasp, from my senses and then they were reappearing, reassembling themselves, remolding myself back together as if I was a puzzle piece each part of myself fitting back together in a very rather painful way; as if my body had been ripped apart and now had to be forced back together.

With a rush of heat and air I was suddenly standing on a cobblestoned alleyway; it was dark and muggy outside wherever I was and before I could really grasp the picture of where I was I fell to my knees taking in two sharp painful gasps of cold icy air; I'm not sure how long I spent kneeling there before pictures, flashes of images flutter my vision again.

A downward sense of a pull stabs at the inside walls of my head and I have to fight the natural instinct inside me to allow the assault the way Dominus had taught me to a long, long time ago. I relax my entire body knowing the pain will lessen if I am calm and my walls are down.

_Of course I would have a vision now as if one power wasn't enough to deal with._

_ A little girl selling flowers._

_The same little girl with a pink ribbon in her now tied hair is crawling down an alley a stab wound that is going to kill her._

_ Painful sharp intakes of shallow air entering lungs that feel as if they are full with water._

_ A Python demon stalking behind the girl._

_ A young man with sharp features and black tattoos that stretch up his firm arms._

The flashes of images fade as I blink rapidly to focus my vision the pull sweeps out of my body as I gasp slightly; I feel used, assaulted, stripped bare; I feel something an uncomfortable sort of something that always nags at me when the vision ends.

I look around and force my feet to uphold my body as I brace myself, waiting for my vision to unfold before me. Soon enough the little girl with the stab wound comes crawling around the corner; I feel my skin prickle as I step forward; extorting my physical wariness onto the fibers around me absorbing the energy from a young man in a bar across the way preparing for a battle; really there wasn't going to be much of a battle seeing as how I have a very unfair advantage.

I walk toward the little girl who looks up a me and smile, relief flooding in her eyes; I crouch down next to her and take hold of her tiny bloody hands; I let my mind reach into hers, follow the fibers that link all minds together and twist it until the fiber bends and two lines spilt so the I can glimpse into her mind.

I whisper into her mind _you are safe, my sweet, sweet child, close your eyes, you are safe. _ I feel the little girl's terror melt away as I fill her mind with bliss; her fingers tighten around mine as she whispers out loud _'Goodbye Mummy.'_

I let the child's hand slip from my hand and stand up distributing my weight evenly among the ground fibers and prepare for the Python demon to stalk around the corner. Soon enough there it is the Python demon; nasty things those Python demons are; not before long the handsome young man stalks around the corner and blinks twice in shock when he sees me staring back at him.

I feel like snorting Nephlium's really are uppity people or rather they're more like things I suppose. Half Angel, half mundane. Really it could go either way but I have to admit he is really quite handsome; with messy brown hair and flushed cheeks; this was his favorite part the killing; I could tell, sense it, the way his eyes glittered it was a rush. Or was it a way to cover something up; I cocked my head to the side and leaned against one of the ally walls I was intrigued by this Nephlium; and not intrigued like how I was intrigued by Nate either; this Nephlium was different.

The Nephlium tore his eyes from mine and looked toward the Python demon who, was stalking towards the little girl; the way a tiger would stalk it's prey. The Nephlium's eyes seemed to glitter even more as he stalked the Python with a white shining blade in his right hand; he twisted it as if it was an attachment to his hand and struck out at the demon just as it was about to sink it's claws into the dead little girl and it hissed black blood dipping onto the pale face of the little girl.

I crossed my arms over my chest, I had to hand it to the Nephlium this was his element he fought better than some of the best Nephlium's I've witnessed and he was just around me age. He had an effortless grace to him and the way he moved; cocky and determined it was quite amusing to watch him.

I cocked my head to the side as I felt the Nephlium slip a step, a tiny little flaw on where he placed his foot; my eyebrow arched knowing what would happen next seeing the ending play out before my eyes; unless I stepped in, then again what would be the difference if there was one less Nephlium in the world; would it really make a difference.

_No Tessa that is not your decision to make, do not play God you are supposed to be changing._


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four:

I sighed long and hard and pushed myself off the wall; why I always had to get involved in other peoples affairs was beyond me.

The Python demon had token the Nephlium's little slip up and lunged catching him off balance and latching itself onto the young man; not to my surprise he only winced as the demons claws sunk into his forearms. I arched my eyebrows and coughed to hide a laugh; I really wasn't good at the whole sympathy thing.

The Nephlium's eyes shot towards mine and they narrowed into slits as he regarded me with minor disgust. I rolled my eyes and flicked my fingers out as if I was flicking dust off a piece of parchment. The Python demon let out a loud echoing scream as I flung backwards as if an invisible force had struck it in the chest. I narrowed my eyes and stepped forward holding the air fibers around the demon up with my mind as I reached for the blood cells in its heart.

I closed my eyes, rolled my neck erode and snapped my fingers the sound radiating around the air making it crack to life. With a loud yell the demon collapsed in on its self and left an only a poodle of black blood that seemed to around the ground beneath it.

The Nephlium I had just saved stood behind me his feet firmly sunk into the fiber of the cobblestone street. I could feel his hand move through the constant moving fiber of air and made a tsking sound, my back tensing. "That's the problem with you people; always so untrustworthy."

"Look it Warlock I don't know what you think your going to get by doing that but-

"You know you really should think before you speak _Nephlium_." My voice had turned cold toward the end of the sentence and I almost sneered out the last word. Nephlium's and Maji's never got along according to ledger back when we coexisted on this earth; before the Downworlders came, the Nephlium's were the lower race they just don't seem to put that in their little Codex of theirs.

I could feel his body muscles tighten and tense but before he could say other word another Nephlium had came around the corner; this one was a young man as well, more friendly though, less cocky, less handsome but easy on the eyes, he had something wrong with him. I spun swiftly; a crease in my eyes wanting to study to new man but the Nephlium beforehand, the cocky one threw his knife swiftly and reflectively at me; I twisted the air fibers around the knife and it clattered onto the cobblestone floor inches away from my face. I bent the fibers underneath the knife and swiftly brought up to my hand, so fast that it was a blur in the air. I twirled the knife in my hands a couple times and smiled a sheepish smile at the two Nephlium's.

"I apologize Sir's I am trying to…behave, I suppose you could say." The one on the left; the one that had something wrong with him stepped forward while the cocky one grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back.

"You broke the law Warlock." My eyes narrowed in confusion for a brief second before I tilted my head back and let out a loud laugh.

"Laws, you restrict demons to laws?" I chuckled under my breath and dropped the Nephlium's blade before turning to leave.

"Downworlders; not demons." The other Nephlium said sounding sane.

My eyebrows arched in surprise and I chuckled; I took a step toward them and stopped as they both drew their blades; I locked eyes with the cocky one, the one that had something dark inside him and smirked just a little "So you regard them as highly as your precise humans." I couldn't keep the bitterness out of my voice as my eyes searched his.

"We have an agreement with your people." His jaw was clenched tight and he was lying.

"Or do you even care about the humans anymore?" I took another step toward them with my hands raised as they tensed further. "As I understand it; you are protectors of the human race; of this." I raised my hands and spun around motioning toward the filth-infested alley. "Lovely works your doing; stunning."

"What I like it; it's unique." He smirked.

"Will." The other one sighed exasperated but I smirked; he was getting better and better. "Do you have a place to stay Miss…?"

I didn't supply a name; I simply smiled for a second before frowning and looking around, I had gotten so caught up in the demon and the; well the transporting myself that I had forgotten about Dominus. He would not be happy; but how would he find me. I was…where was I? "What is this?" I asked.

"It's an alley." The Nephlium named Will remarked with a smirk.

"An alley in what city?" I asked with an arched eyebrow.

"You don't know where you are?" The other one asked.

"Of course I do Nephlium; like Will said, I'm in an alley." I smiled tipped my head and turned swiftly walking down the alley to get to the street; I could feel the others footfalls as the fiber from the cobblestones absorbed them.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five:

I took a breathe of air when I made it out of the filth of the alley and frowned as I saw the lights of several different pubs; I hadn't a clue were I was but it was night time and it was a well developed city with carriages here and there, quite enough though; I hated cities, so much going on, so much energy, so many different fibers.

"You should come back with us." The Nephlium not named Will said in an almost sympathetic voice.

"Jem! Would you stop inviting the strays home." Will protested as I chuckled slightly.

"Such vulgar words for such a gentleman as yourself." I stopped turned swiftly inches away from Will's face and stared at him. "Young ladies should not be talked to in such a manner." I winked and laughed turning to continue walking down the side path.

"Under law we are to take you back, aid Downworlders in seek of help." The Nephlium called Jem said; I thought I should probably tell them I wasn't a Downworlder but then they would ask me what I was and I couldn't tell them that now could I?

"You see the only problem with that is; I am no Downworlder." The words tumbled out of my mouth and I winced at the end; when Dominus found out he would not be pleased with me.

"Your not human." Will remarked.

I stopped again turned to face him and said: "How do you know?"

"Because humans can't do whatever it is that you did back there."

_I was a human._ I thought to myself with sadness._ At one point in my life I was human; where it matters anyway. _"You don't know anything." My tone was cold, so dead that I flinched away from it; it sounded so much like Dominus'.

"We still owe you aid; you saved Will." Jem stated.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence Jem." Will rolled his eyes

"You missed a step." I said trying my best to focus on my footfalls only and no one else's, "It was simple and small, but Python demons can't see they sense" I paused and glanced at him "and that one sensed your misstep," I looked back at him and smirked just slightly "you were very entertaining though."

"You were very distracting." I snorted at his retort.

"Will."

"Alright, alright we'll take her back."

"So kind of you but my mother told me to never go anywhere with strangers." I said lightly looking around my situation finally seeming to dawn on me; what choice did I really have.

"Now say it with some more feeling." Will whispered in my ear making me jump swing my leg back; kicking his left leg out from under his feet and tighten the fibers around his neck; all within seconds; before Will or Jem could even realized what happened.

"Shit." I swore after a second and released him only the have him draw his knife and push me against one of the many town houses along the road.

"Will!" Jem called in protest seeming to realize what was going on.

"Do it." I whispered only low enough for Will to hear; the words slipped from my mouth with the only real emotion I had showed in a long time; since Nate and I first meet.

His hard eyes seemed to soften just slightly and then widen as he heard me; his hand loosened on his knife giving me multiple ways of getting free but I stood there half hoping he would do it.

"Will for god's sake man it was a mistake." Jem tried to reason with him but he simply stared at me.

Something in the way he looked at me unnerved me slightly, but for some reason I liked the way it unnerved me, which only proved to unnerve me further.

"And if she wants to die?" Will asked in all seriousness.

Jem let out an almost nervous laugh "Don't be ridiculous Will, it was a simple mistake, come on let her go."

Will loosened his knife again and twirled it around his fingers before slipping it into his pocket with a small flick of his wrist. He stared at me for a second and something in his eyes changed for a moment, something other than his dull amusement, something I could not place because it vanished just as fast as it appeared.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six:

A flash of disappointment leaked through my eyes and Will caught, Jem didn't and for that I was grateful. I wasn't one for emotion, expressing them or otherwise.

"So…what is it that you are Miss…?" Jem trailed off again waiting for me to provide a name.

"Gray, Miss Theresa Gray." Words seem to just keep tumbling out of my mouth lately and I didn't like it, I always got in far more trouble when I could restrict what I said.

"Well Miss Gray, may I call you Theresa?" He asked politely.

"Tessa is fine." I replied with a shrug seeing Nate's disapproving face pop into mind his voice scolding _Young ladies should not be called by their Christian names by a young man she just meet._ My heart ached at the sound and I swallowed the lump in the back of my throat again with more difficulty this time. I wonder what he thought when he came home to an empty house; I wonder if he thought I simply left because of our fight, did he think I hated him?

The thought brought me to a complete dead stop causing Will to swing left in the nick of time to avoid colliding with me. "Where am I?" I demanded looking at him with hard eyes, I shouldn't be harsh, or hard, but it was better than what I was feeling with was guilt and what a horrible emotion that one was let me tell you, pesky little thing always gets me into the most trouble.

"Do you normally change moods so swiftly Miss Gray?" Will asked annoyed somewhat.

"You are in London." Jem answered seeming to ignore Will's comment.

"Well now you've gone and ruined the surprise Jem, the suspense was the only form of amusement I had left." Will sarcastically retorted.

I blinked at the two of them and blinked again. "London." I said slowly as if I was slow or something; I was just is Barcelona; London was miles and oceans away from Barcelona.

"Dear Lord now she's slow, hope you are explaining to Charlotte that you broke her; not me." Will stated with a puff of air.

"Where did you think you were?" Jem asked; his voice sort of far away and static-y.

"Certainly not London." I spoke out through the shock; how in the world…that's what he was doing! Dominus provoked me into transporting, provoked another dormant power to awaken; that son of a-

"Miss Gray?" Jem asked in concern.

"Tessa." I replied instantly turning my eyes up toward his silver ones. He was a handsome fellow Jem was with pale skin and black silk smooth hair, not as handsome as Will but handsome enough and built nicely, in shape and firm. He had a kindness to him the Will didn't have and again I got a pricking feeling in the back of my scalp that something was wrong with him, something that was going to kill him. I cocked my head to the side slightly and took a step toward him; noticing how Will tensed and his hand hovered over his blade.

"Tessa, what do you remember?" Jem asked stared back at me with his kind but dull eyes, he was ill, that was sure, his illness would kill him, that's what troubled me, he was pale and not all there at moments, his eyes were one moment alive and shining and the next they were dull; null and void almost.

"I have no gaps in my memory; I have perfect memory." I stated; turned swiftly away from him and continued to walk this time Will stayed by my side instead of Jem's.

"There's something you're not telling us." Will almost demanded.

"Will!" Jem sounded tired but strong.

"Your right." I glanced toward him and with a smile whispered "But mystery's are always better than romance; one simply must built up the suspense."

Amusement glittered in his eyes, as his lips twitched "What aren't you telling us Warlock."

"Go ahead and guess, it's much more fun." Will narrowed his eyes into slits and held my gaze for a while before turning and facing forward.

"Tessa you are a Warlock you know that right." Jem seemed hesitant to say this and I snorted.

"If that's what you believe Nephlium." My voice was hard, slightly cold and I winced just slightly again. Doing the right thing was never easy for me, even when I was little I had to force myself not to lie because lying simply came more natural to me than telling the truth seemed to.

"Ugh; I hate riddles, why can't people just say what they mean." Will's voice was tense as if he was holding back what he really wanted to say.

"Because most people don't want to know what people really mean." I looked at him for second.

"I'm not most people Tessa." I looked at Will again and almost smiled, no one had said my name the way he said; and it unnerved me in that good familiar way again, it almost sounded like music to my ears.

"Oh you'd be surprised Mr. Herondale." I didn't quite feel comfortable saying his Christian name, mostly because he hadn't exactly given me permission. Thinking it, I told myself, was hurting no one at all.

Will tensed and skipped a step in a rhythm that had begun to calm my over erect senses; they could see it, because I was very good at hiding what was going on inside but I was frightfully close to having a nervous breakdown from every moving fiber buzzing around.

"How did you know my last name, if you're not a Warlock?" Will said in that demanding yet condescending voice of his.

"Did I say I wasn't a Warlock?" I asked in mock shock. I was angering him I could tell but something about seeing his eyes glitter like that on wanted me to continue further.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven:

"So you are admitting that you are a Warlock." Will clarified.

"No, I am admitting to the fact that I did not in fact agree or disagree to your claims; Sir." I tipped my head towards Will with a smile as he glared at me.

_Jeesh; if looks could kill._

Technically mine can but that's an entirely different story altogether.

Will stopped short Jem flanking him as he pulled me to a stop by catching my wrist, "If you are not a Downworlder we are not endued to give you shelter or help for that matter."

"Is there a question Sir?" I asked simply because it would only serve to annoy Will further.

"We're leaving Jem; let her come crawling back when she needs a place to sleep." I rolled my eyes at him; shook my wrist free and continued on my walk, he was right somewhat I would need a place to sleep but if I had transported here what's to say I couldn't simply transport back to Nate and Is' town home in New York.

If I could imagine the living room; every detail of if than perhaps I could focus where the pull takes me, I had never tried to control a pull; I was taught to allow it to sweep over and into me, consuming me but then again knowing Dominus he would force me to exert complete control over it until the walls of my mind bleed.

I came to a complete and dead halt as the thought occurred to me; why couldn't I exert control over a pull; if I could bring it on, reverse the sweeping of fiber, the rush of particles than I could determine where I ended up. If I could perfectly maintain a constant streaming photograph of the place I wanted than wouldn't I end up there, almost as how I had done when I created matter, a solid.

"Tessa?" Jem asked.

I grinned at him and closed my eyes sucking in a deep muggy breath of air that forced it's way through my veins and into my lungs which seemed for a second to reject the smog induced air. I rolled my neck and imagined the living room of our town house, the over-stuffed, unnecessary couch Nate said looked absolutely stunning in the window of a furniture warehouse district; it was a horrendous looking piece of furniture with ugly looking spirals that seeped over the upholstered grey velvet fabric.

"Tessa." Will's voice seemed far away and soft, low as if he was whispering.

I pulled at the fibers around me and nothing seemed to happen; al that seemed to happen was that the air got stiffer, harder almost to the point of suffocation. I sucked in another rigid breath of air this time it seemed to repeal against my lungs and burn through my veins.

I flinched sharply as the pain echoed around in my hollow bones and tried this time to collect my fibers, the fibers, tiny particles that made up my body, then I let them slip through my fingers like grains of sand, careful to keep my a mind's picture of that horrid looking couch; imagining myself sitting on it, like I always did at this time at night with my feet tucked underneath me and an old book of poems lying on my lap, with a fire crackling small bits of ambers just a few feet in front of me.

I screamed out as a horrible ripping attacked each part of my body, tearing apart each molecule I had, but it was working I could feel my fibers fall away slowly each piece having to me tore away from my form.

I could feel the fire already, the heat; smell the old parchment paper, the ink drying in the small pot on Nate's wooden old desk. I could feel the weight of the book lying on my lap, feel the anxiousness run through my veins; I could feel my head drift towards the front door every once in awhile as if I was waiting for someone to walk through it.

"Tessa!" Will's voice was no more than a low murmur in my ear but it was enough for some of my particles to pull back together.

I heaved a sharp gasp only resulting in more fibers molding back into place, _NO! _I screamed but it was too late I could already see the image fade, the heat was drifting away and as I reach effortlessly out for the fibers connecting me to my home I could feel the fibers replace themselves, molding me back together. The feel of the cobblestone street seemed back into my memory; the fibers warped around my bones and sunk into me with the stabs of knives.

I let out a scream, the sound of it bringing the rest of my fibers back with a snap. My eyes flung open and I gasped, heaving gulps of muggy air into my lungs as the sight of the familiar yet completely new London street came in view, clearing more and more as I blinked rapidly feeling warm liquid run down the sides of my face; then everything seemed to tilt sort of, as if whiskey would if you tipped the bottle to it's side and the facing towards the floor. Black blurs spin around my vision whitening the edges of my vision as well.

"Tessa, stay with me here." Will's voice was closer than before but I seemed to be only getting some of his words clearly. There was however an emotion in his voice I couldn't place but before I had time to even think about it I had slipped away, my vision going completely black as the fog seeped into every particle inside my body, almost seemed to hollow out my bones.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight:

I made an effort to sit up from wherever I was and only feel back limply; my body seemed weighted with tons cement blocks. I blinked rapidly panic swelled in my chest and beginning to spread, as the blackness encasing me didn't seem to be subsiding. I could feel my chest heave with panicked hushed breaths as I attempted to lift my weighted down eyelids again.

"Miss Gray; Miss Gray please just try to relax." It was a female voice, unfamiliar to my ears; it seemed far away like Will's had.

I focused on the fiber's of where I was being held, light weighted footfalls moved from the right side of a floor to the left; there was a more weighted impact, packed into the ground fibers left of me; a chair with most likely a male sitting in it. There was what seemed to be a heavy weight in one corner of the room, dresser maybe? Most likely yes; I was in a room, a bedroom because what I was lying on was soft to my skin comfortable, much too comfortable to be anything such as a table.

I took in a slow deep breath and drew on the energy around me; I was deep inside somewhere, wherever I was because the closest thing I could find was a young man taking a walk. I breathed in a gain feeling the fibers of cobblestone streets and searched outside further, I was still in London; there were ten people in this building including myself; I pulled on the cord's connecting my in to the man sitting next to me and drew out his face, he was scarred Charlotte called him Brother Enoch he was healing me, or trying to at least. Both Nephlium's, of course.

I forced my eyelids to open as I blinked my heart rate calmed beating once again in rhythm of my clockwork angel. I looked straight ahead, I was indeed in a lowly light room, and witchlight the only light in it illuminated Brother Enoch's scars even further. He was the real Shadowhunter, the ones I remember fighting, vicious things they are, Fierce too.

I nodded to him in respect and could feel Charlotte's shock and surprise. Brother Enoch of course remained passive, I had forgotten how much they seemed to comfort me; surprisingly they were something solid, something old and familiar.

I could feel his pull effect me; I could feel him trying to reach out into my mind; speak to me. My lips quirked as I leaned in close to him, close enough to whisper "Something wrong _Shadowhunter_." The word came out sneered; not matter how much they comforted me at the moment; they were still my mortal enemy and that was something one just doesn't simply get over. "I was never fond of you and your claws digging through my head; what is it they use to say, 'beware of the leeches once they latch on they'll never let go.'" My lips quirked in a cruel sort of way; being here, now that I actually knew where I was, was bringing back old memories, memories I didn't particularly want to relive.

Brother Enoch's face remained passive; but I knew different, his mind was swarming, they lived a long time, I wonder how long he's been around. He stood up swiftly and I sprung out of bed faster than the other Nephlium, the woman, thought possible, he tensed staring at me with his scarred indented eyes and I stared back unmoving, hard and relaxed all at the same time. That is what they hated must about us, we were relaxed when we fought, at ease, it came as quick and simple as breathing did. "Tell me Nephlium was this as good for you as it was for me?"

He stepped forward toward me and his hand twitched at his side; he carried blades around his torso but not many, these Nephlium's could kill with a single thought but it doesn't quite work out very well if they can't reach your mind.

"Kill with a single mind threat; reach a part and pluck them out, slimly like a devil's trap, scars part the Nephlium's best." He almost seemed to flinch for a moment; Dominus would be laughing if he were here. I froze at the thought but remained where I was standing in front of the Shadowhunter; I had slipped away, back into my old ways, and the worst part of it was that I didn't even realize it until I was already gone. I felt like I should apologize but I would never offer it up.

Brother Enoch turned swiftly and swept out of the room pausing to warn Charlotte. "Downworlder; I'm insulted Nephlium, you should know better." He tensed his jaw muscles restricting once again before he retreated out of the wooden door slamming it.

My lips twitched for a second before I turned to Charlotte; she was a small woman, hard to believe that she would wear warriors clothes, these Nephlium seemed weak, if Dominus ever found out-

I shuttered just slightly as old images flashed through my mind, he would try to, and actually succeed in disarming their power, Dominus was a cruel man; he could rule very profoundly and we Maji's would rise again but he was not what I ever hoped to see on a thrown.

"Miss Gray; if you are not a Downworlder what are you?"

"Such bold language; Mrs." I kept my eyes trained on Charlotte as her eyes narrowed.

"I have never seen Brother Enoch respond in such a way, care to tell me why he warned me to 'release her before she burns us all.'"

I shrugged one shoulder smiling just slightly and said calmly "Perhaps he doesn't care for my dress."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine:

Charlotte took two carefully placed steps towards me; around the bed that was separating us and raised herself to her full height; the sight of the woman in front of me would have been opposing if I had been human; eyes glittering, her neck muscles throbbing against her skin; her tattoos that almost seemed to be luminescent against this dimly lit room.

"Under the Accords you are required to tell me who you are." She was paraphrasing really; I had been there when they signed the rights over to the Nephlium to give them the power to create there Accords, mostly because we didn't want to deal with Downworlders, pesky little arrogant things those Downworlders are.

"My name is Theresa Gray and I like long walks on the beach; and you Ma'am?"

"I can bring the Enclave here right now, summon them if you do-

"Do not threaten me Nephlium, my temper has never been my strong suit." Charlotte seemed to loose her boldness at the cold tone of my voice. Guess I've still got the authority left me in; Dominus won't be pleased to hear that either.

"You are bound under law." Her voice rose as her eyes froze over, a look of authority seeping over her face.

"I do not follow your laws Nephlium!" My eyes flared as my temper rose; I could call to Dominus, he and I could easily-_ No Tessa, no._

"You will or you will die." I shouldn't have, I really shouldn't have, but I did; I could help it. Nephliums could never kill me; Maji's have progressed over time, evolved, so I laughed a small light laugh but enough for her to draw her blade and call for Jem, Henry, and Will.

I weighed my options, what's the worst that could happen if I let them take me away, what was the Enclave going to do anyway; stab me a few times with they're knives I've gotten far worse from Dominus.

"Last opportunity Downworlder." However if I allow them to take me than I run the risk of them finding out about the Maji's again; Dominus would be very upset, which reminds me I wonder when he'll find me, I wonder what he'll do when he does, he can't really get that upset with me, he triggered it anyhow. Then again on the other hand it might give me the opportunity to try getting back to Nate.

"Take her down to the meeting room." Charlotte ordered Jem and Will; Jem seemed hesitant but what was surprising was so did Will for a moment, before he snapped into action and latched himself onto my right arm waiting for Jem who shortly joined him. Like I said _leeches_.

Jem and Will gave a little shove as I forced my heavy feet to move, I walked to the wooden door and the other slightly older Shadowhunter opened it staring at me. I tipped my head cordially with a smirk on my face and dead eyes.

"Henry summon the Enclave."

"Oh I am so very excited to meet them, do please tell them exactly where I am." I paused to twist my head to look at Charlotte "I would simply die if I missed their visit."

"Why don't you just tell her what you are?" Jem asked as they lead me down a dimly candle lit hallway.

"I told you, I adore mystery's."

"You will tell the Enclave eventually." Will's voice was hard, even and cold.

"Or die, never rule out dying." You see there was a time when Maji's could never die, the original Nephliums cast out their lives and gave it to a warlock, mixed their blood and everything. It was a big ordeal, anyway when a Warlock has enough concentrated energy and strength he can bend any magic to his will. So the original twelve Nephliums sacarficed their lives and transferred their powers over to a Warlock named Darwin and the Warlock cast a curse on all Maji's. Saying something like, we were to suffer the wrath of the lost souls we destroyed, that we were to spend our eternity truly mortal. Mombo Jumbo if you ask me, but no one ever asks me. Which is a shame really because I have some very insightful thoughts on the matter.

Anyway the point is Maji's can die but when we do, we are simply recycled, in the literal form. We are literally reborn, our powers lie dormant until another Maji awakens them but it does prove testing to the Maji's subjected to it, Dominus would never forgive me if I died and he had to retrain me all over again. Not to mention find me, nope dying would not be pleasant. Must create a mental note on that _dying__: last resort. _Check. Got it.

"You shouldn't take this too lightly, Tessa." Jem warned as he escorted me into a large room with vibrant chairs and a giant fountain in the center.

"The Enclave intend to torture me here; what will happen when my blood stains the marble floors?" I said in mock seriousness.

"Do you really think so lowly of yourself, that it wouldn't matter if you were dead or alive?" I wasn't entirely sure if Will was simply yelling at me or demanding an answer to a question I had missed due all his excessive said yelling.

"Well now, let me think on that for a while." I flopped down in the middle of the cold marble floor, sliding smoothly from their relaxed grip. "You don't suppose I could have a book to read?" My voice spiked just slightly at the notion, oh how I missed my books. Human heroines and their love affairs, I sighed allowing my shoulders to slump in defeat, I would never finish Romeo and Juliet now. Now that I was stuck in some Nephlium infested dark and dreary castle…thing.

"I-

"Jem!" Will remarked rather loudly in a warning "She's a prisoner for Christ's sake, don't show her compassion!"

"Yes Jem do listen to Will, I am just drowning in his sympathy over here, yours would only add to the burden."

Will glared at me, soon he turned his glare onto Jem as the Nephlium sat in one of the velvet chairs relaxing into it as if he hadn't slept for days. I turned slowly, being extra careful under Will's unyieldingly cold gaze. I studied the other Nephlium, Jem, his shoulders were slumped, his feet sagged onto the marble floor as if carrying them around all day was exhausting, his eyes were kind but so miserably tired that for a just a tiny half of a second my heart pulled toward him, his face was becoming pasty and pale in an unhealthy way that sort of unnerved me.

"So." I said to break the unnerving eerie silence; I looked at Will who had yet to move both in anyway at all and his hand from his engraved blade. "Will, why don't you sit." I smiled up at him as his eyebrows creased in both amusement and confusion.

"Unlike _Jem_ I take my job very _seriously_."

"I bet you do." I mumbled to him rolling my eyes before closing them "Fine, then, lets have a little quiet." I took a long breath and held it; I concealed my aura and retrained the sudden and large flare-ups to simply direct itself away from the fabric of the world and into myself, my first lesson with Dominus. Before I could help myself or even prepare I was thrust, literally, thrust backwards slamming my head like a rag doll against the marble black wall with a loud and repulsing _crack_.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten:

I tried to open my eyes desperately knowing what would come of this but I couldn't, they forcibly sealed shut.

At first it came in burst, sharp stabs of pain assaulting my body than the picture began to from and the pain was rushed with fear, with an even more unbearable pain, one that seemed to consume me; claw at my sanity from the inside out.

_I could see myself clearly on the inside of my mind, standing in darkness, standing in white. _

_The first day he found me. _

_I straightened my metaphorical self reflected in white inside my mind and released control._

_My grandmother had just spent her last of her month's wages on the fabric of my white, a soft vibrant white cotton dress. I had run so fast that day, thrusting myself into the green open field just behind our little house. Nate and had just gotten back from his interview but I had barely given him a second glance as I danced and twirled into the open field a huge plastered innocent grin on my face. _

'_Absolute bliss is not absolute, but unattainable.'_

_He words were cruel in a singsong melodic sort of way, as if he was right behind me dancing along with an obliviously demented lame child._

_I remember then, that moment when I had first heard his voice inside my head; I hated the feeling it brought back crushing memories that pounded on my skull until I was left crying in the dirt ruining my white cotton dress. _

_I was thirteen then, I am seventeen now._

_I rubbed my burning eyes and looked around I was no longer in a field; I was in a bedroom. A beautiful stunningly rich bedroom with oak hand curved entrancing designing. _

"_My pretty, pretty Praeda." His voice coaxed me inside my mind, surrounding all logical or survival reasoning and crushing them into submission. "I have waited for you for so long." His voice reminded me of the rabid dogs that hung around our garbage can who I would always take pity on; due to the fact that they looked so pathetic with their ribs sticking out, my grandmother use to tell me to stay away from them, she sad they look pathetic but they'll bite off you hand and not spare a second thought to it._

"_W-Where am I?" My voice was hoarse from all the crying, I look down at my dress and tried to no avail to undo the dirty mess I had made my white dress out to be._

"_Conceal yourself darling." It took me weeks to fully understand everything the crazy man said._

"_I don't understand." My voice was weak, Dominus didn't like weak, and my present self trued to warn her to try anyway, to not argue. I knew what was coming. I was watching to scene unfold before my eyes and all I desperately wanted to do was be in that marble waiting room. _

"_Do not try my patience."_

"Do it now!" _My present self screamed into her dark cell of my mind. _"Please"

"_I told you I don't understand." My past self's voice grew a little stronger only serving to anger Dominus enough to rip the door off its hinges with a thundering snap._

"_You will do what I tell you to now!" He voice was no longer coaxing or calm but it was shaking, shaking with unshed fury. "Now!" His voice boomed in the small room._

_His voice angered my thirteen year old self and I begged her silently from my careful watching place to stop, to just try but she could hear a thing and so I watched as my thirteen year old self straightened her teenage back. _

_Pushed her rigid hands against the floor and stood up, straightening to her full length and glaring at the impressive man before her. "I said I do not understand, do you understand that." It wasn't a question in the least._

_Both my present self and thirteen year old self flew against the tiny room and dangled on the wall, as Dominus laughed slightly with his hand in the air limply as if he wasn't even putting any effort at all in the act that was crushing my air-way passage._

"_Now conceal yourself Tessa or you will unfortunately die." _

"_How?" Was all I could mange to choke out, my eyes brimming with tears, my lungs burning as they begged for air. _

_He smiled, a gloriously beautiful smile that almost warmed my heart "Close your eyes." He instructed calmly. "Now find the fire inside you."_

_Again I didn't understand, so I pretended and the worst of all lied "Okay what next?"_

_I fell then breaking my left leg in the process as I crashed to the hard floor smacking my wrist against something sharp that had be sticking out of the floor and watched as blood gusted out of the burning area. Found the fire. I thought angrily before I was thrown again against the wall and asked to try again._

_It took three days, a broken leg, and two severely damaged lungs from lack of oxygen, massive amounts of blood loose and my first scar to get me to find my fire inside of my and pull it back in from leaking out every time I felt something more than numbness._

"_Now that wasn't so hard was it, seems just absolutely wasteful to suspend so much precious energy and power, now doesn't it?"_

I gasped, sucking in giant gulps of air as I sprung to my feet; hyperaware of my surroundings I fell into a relaxing but dangerous stance as I glared at my captors who had doubled in numbers.

"Good to see you're awake." He didn't seem happy nor was he moved at all.

I breathed calmly narrowing my eyes at the tense man, cocky like Will. I didn't particularly like that attribute. I relaxed my stance keeping my sensed as they were and cracked my neck to get the kinks out, I was not in the talking mood; I was in the fighting mood.

"Do you know where you are?" A woman asked, another Nephlium.

"I do." She smiled at this seeming pleased.

"Good, can you tell us why you refused to answer any of Charlotte's questions?"

My lips twitched as I looked around, Will and Jem had been maneuvered to the side and guessing by the glare on Will's face he didn't care for it.

"You realize you are breaking your laws."

This wasn't a question.

I sat down cross-legged in front of the woman and the rest of the Enclave perfectly at ease, which seemed to surprise them.

"Under the Accords you must tell us who you are!" The man who spoke before demanded of me.

Not a sound.

"Her name is Theresa, Tessa Gray." Will's voice surprised me for a moment before I turned slightly to look at him with an amused smile. His eyebrows rose incredulously at me and he glared cold and hard.

"What are you?" This was a new person who spoke, a far much older person, one I remembered. One of the second generations; his parents had die in their uprising he was left alone, a child no more than twelve out there on the battle field yielding a sword, the sight was hilarious to some but frightening to others.

"Do you understand why I felt I needed to call you?" Charlotte spoke hastily in her anger.

"I am afraid if you do not answer you will be sentenced to death." The woman spoke calmly clearly. I stared at the old man, who looked as if he was ready to dissipate into dust. He studied me; with even hard eyes, eyes that had grown up harshly, eyes that had witnessed his parents slaughtered without even having a fighting chance. I wondered how he was still alive.

I hadn't even registered what the woman had really said until people had began to move around me. I sprung to my feet with ease and grace and watched all of them as they circled around me. "Now, now boys, lets all be nice."

The man who spoke to me first laughed "Do you honestly think you can take all of us Downworlder, with no weapon?"

I locked my eyes with the firm and middle-aged warrior and smiled viciously making him even flinch a little. I ran my tongue across my teeth and glanced briefly to the old man whose eyes flared with renewed energy at the sight and spoke to him "Easily."

His blade was out of his belt and at my neck within two seconds as he stared into my eyes. My smile was carefully placed on my lips as if I was testing him to do it. "You will tell me exactly who you are." He had mustered so much hatred into one sentence that everyone around me, except for me froze in shock. The blade cut into my skin as he pressed harder as a warning. He measured my eyes before spinning rapidly and extending out his left leg to knock me balance off.

A calculated mistake.

I bent my knees and sprung up in the air, thrusting my body back so that I briefly touched the ground with the tips of my fingers before springing again and landing on a Nephliums shoulders. Catching the old man's alit eyes I brought the Nephlium down with one single fluid twist and a loud shocking _snap_ of his neck.

"That is the first time you have underestimated me Nephlium, you will do well to make sure you do not test my patience."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven:

Several things happened next, several things that all seemed to happen at once. I sat back down, the old man rushed at me stopping moments before getting to me and the rest of the Nephliums rushed at me blades drawn eyes shining.

I put up no fight as they bound me, the old man watched in confusion as I was pulled roughly to my feet, a steel metal shackle having been placed around my neck. He waited for me to do something anything but I didn't, instead I looked at my captors a young man with a straight sharp jaw line and another with a more curved and fuller older face to him. I smiled at the old man and winked as I kept up a fast pace, each of the Nephliums taking turns tugging me forward hoping for me to catch a snag and fall so they could pull my rather painfully to my feet again.

"So boys where are you taking such an innocent girl like me?"

"Shut up!" They both snapped in union.

"Ah, I am guessing he was a fried, that Nephlium back there." No answer "Eh, occupational hazard I guess."

They missed a step and tugged me harder toward another dimly lit hallway. "He was a good warrior."

"While, hate to be a burden but he wasn't that good, seeing as how he's kind of dead an all."

They both jerked me to a sudden expected stop and spun around on me "He was a friend and I don't know about Jonathon over here, but I will take immense pleasure in splitting you wrist."

I smiled at him darkly as I stared straight into his hard and icy eyes "Really because I pictured you as a book guy, have you ever seen blood run freely out of freshly cut wound, now Will I bet he'd be a great torturer, he seems to enjoy the fight just as much as I do."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve:

The boy must not like Will much because at the mention of his name, his nostrils flared and his eyes narrowed in fury. The other boy, tugged open a heavy solid oak door while the younger boy threw me inside, I stumbled slightly but didn't fall as his connected my bound wrists to the stone wall arm shackles.

This place, this dungeon brought back unwanted memories, I focused on pulling in my flares of power redirecting them cautiously and sparingly to each aching part of my body, beginning with my lightly bleeding wrists.

"_Wonderful now onto our second mission." His voice was cheerful with sparks of glee; I noticed how his eyes flashed bright blue from his normal color of black every time he exerted a lot of power or emotion._

"_Mission?"_

_His anger flared at my blatant question. _Do not speak directly to him. My inner present self warned the thirteen year old me doing no good whatsoever.

"_Hush child would you." He snapped, "Now lie to me."_

"_W- I, the thirteen year-old me stopped at his raised eyebrow and told a lie "I am fourteen years-old."_

_He clapped his hands together gleefully then bounded over to me with a broad smile on his face and clasped his warm hands onto either side of my face "Perfect, just perfect; I almost believed it myself, I think we have just discovered a newly developed talent."_

_I opened my mouth to speak but he placed a single finger on my lips as his eyes flared to life with anger._

"_Always lie Tessa, to anyone who is not me understand, unless instructed by me to, if you are ever held against your will and interrogated you will lie, not a single cell of truth, understood."_

I blinked back my surroundings taking notice to the small wooden table in the left corner of the small square cell. I relaxed my tense stance, letting arms sag just slightly and my legs cross over each other out of comfortable habit.

I cracked my neck and studied my prison; I've had a lot worse that was obvious but I didn't particularly like the metal that was biting into my wrists. Stray pieces of hair fell into my face and I was constantly trying to blow the piece away with my air or I would forget that I was chained to a wall and would roughly bring my left hand down to swipe the stray pieces of hair out of my face only to be met with a sharp stab of pain.

I exhaled loudly and angrily "Nice going Tessa, you really should mussel yourself, you wouldn't even be in the miss if you hadn't helped that stupid Nephlium handsome in the first place."

The door heaved opened making a pungent noise to reveal an amused and arrogant Will and a cold-faced Charlotte.

"You know this might not be that hard after all, I could just turn on the charm." Will winked at me.

"William." Charlotte gave Will a reproachful and warning glare as her eyes ranked over me in a somewhat pitiful way.

I blew hot angry air over my face again sighing in an annoyed defeat as the stray hairs multiplied and fell across my face, tickling and inching my nose, lips, and checks. I sagged my body my eyes glances at the itching that was coming from the wet blood that was running down into my new lace dress, Dominus had spent a lot on this dress he would be so upset to find blood stains in it.

"This is your last chance." Charlotte gave me a stern hard practiced look before sighing and walking gracefully out of the room, leaving me in Will's hands.

"There are two guards outside the door, so if you somehow manage to get by me and open the door; they'll be ready to drag you right back."

I blew air again at my face and almost growled in annoyance, as it did no good. Will laughed and furthered his laugh when he saw my exasperated and annoyed look.

"You do realize how ridiculous you look, that you are like a tiny mouse trying to scare a wolf."

"Don't sell yourself short Will, I would have went with a lion or a panther, surely you wouldn't be a wolf." He face shifted for a moment to a vulnerable almost caring look before his airy and confidence leaked back in.

He walked over to me and gently tucked my stray hair behind my ears. I bowed my head and smiled at him in gratitude while he nodded curtly and distantly turning his back on me. Will walked over to the door knocked a weird little knock that made me smile and duck my head to hide my laughter.

"That's not the knock we agreed upon!" The younger boy snapped annoyed.

I coughed to hide a laugh while Will said, "Your knock was ridiculous and bland."

The younger guard slammed the door sharply as Will turned with an amused smile to me carrying a purple velvet wrap. He set it on the table he hunched over back facing me, I looked around my cell sensing for any weak spots, and ironically the only weak spot in this poor, abused cell was where my shackles were. I could easily manipulate it and go free but then again where would I go, I could also de-materialize but then again where would I go.

I sighed again and relaxed into an easy stance.

Will turned back to me with a silver gleaming blade in his hand dripping with water or a clear liquid. "Holy water will tell me if you're a vampire, while the blade will tell me if you are a number of other things." I really should brush up on my demons. I never really took to the study's Dominus taught because he was so boring to listen to.

I watched him walk over to me without hesitation or any sign of emotion in his face. His body looked relaxed and at ease, his eyes shone bright and were far more mesmerizing to look at than the gleaming blade.

"Wait a moment if you will." He looked almost relieved as the words came calmly out of a dead tone. I breathed in deeply uncrossed my legs, bent them against the hard floor and sprang unto the wall. Digging my thing slippers into the uneven ledges in the stones I eased my wrists upward away from the there shackle; inspected them briefly before nodding approvingly at them and wrapping my hand tightly around the metal cuffs clamping them down around the metal so that they bit into my palms and fingers in an unbearable painful way that would keep my mind away from unpleasant thoughts and the urge to run away.

I looked at Will who had a shocked, confused and utterly speechless expression on his face. "Alright go ahead." His eyebrows creased as he looked at me as if he was seeing at me for the first time ever.

"Most people or things I've interrogated don't normally cling to the things keeping them here, causing them more pain in the process." Will stated as if I hadn't ever been interrogated before.

"I'm not most people or like most things." I shrugged a little, my feet placed on separate tiny ledges in the stones a few feet above the floor, which brought me eye level to Will.

His face like liquid sliding out of a bottle became emotionless as he stepped closer to me. He reached up with his knife and made a clean relatively deep cut into my right forearm. He watched my face as I watched his emotionless one, I didn't flinch or show any aversion to the cut at all, I was consciously aware inside of the fire blazing in my forearm from the sharp never-ending sting of the knife.

I dug my palms into the sharp metal of my cuffs as blood from my palms dripped onto my many layers of blue silks. The pain of the already exposed flesh only seemed to enhance as the metal dug deeper in the pink raw flesh and bleed more.

_You will not use you powers; yet._

_You will not think of Dominus; yet._

Will retreated saying nothing to the table whipped off his blade and picked up another larger blade, this one with engravings on it that gleamed silver.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen:

"Why did you come to London?" I stared at him, the blade held weightless in his hand, I understood there magic was engraved in it and it would hurt much more than the one before it. Will stroke out with the blade fast, that for a human it would have been a blur; I dug my palms into the metal cuffs to keep myself from reacting on instinct and froze every counter-attack inside my racing mind as his blade cut thinly across my neckline but drew blood, enough for its to magic to work its way through my veins.

I breathed in on instinct and clenched my hands onto the cuffs, ignoring the counter-attacks that flew in my mind to now protect my body from the magic.

"_This is what you deserve, this is your punishment, and you should not have run away Praeda." Dominus stroked my check soothingly as I gasped and sobbed into his shirt from the onslaught of varies objects continuously stabbing and prodding me. _

"_I-I…" I couldn't even get the words out; my lungs blazed to life and assaulted my body for air every time I spoke._

"_I know, don't talk it will all be over soon and pain makes the heart stronger and the soul colder."_

_I didn't want my soul to turn cold. _Don't Argue! _My present day self snapped at the girl cowering into Dominus' clothes._

I blinked rapidly at my surroundings surprised to find that Will's tools were already halfway done and over with, blood soiled on each of them. As soon as I regained my bearings, I regained the missed out pain. My hands were still clutched onto the cuffs; my face was slacked with blood and sweat. My arms were littered with long and short already healing cuts running in varies directions; they would defiantly scare; at least he hadn't made it to my legs yet.

I slammed my back hard against the wall to distract my thoughts and caught wills attention as he briefly glanced back, a hollow and emotionless warrior, and his face sweaty and slacked with my blood as while. His white long sleeve dress shirt rolled up to his forearms, exposing his silver tattoos and firm forearms.

He turned halfway toward and I eased into what was about to happen. His left arm extended back and with a blur of movement a large and wide blade slit through the air aiming toward my thigh. Without thinking I twisted the air around the knife and with flaring eyes I brought it clattering to the floor, the sound echoing in the room.

"Oh!" I gasped and released my grip of the cuffs forgetting I was actually still cuffed to the wall and I leapt gracefully down off my ledge bringing my whole body out sharply to pick up the blade only have my entire body erupt in a fire-y pain as it snapped back, slamming into the wall, rattling my teeth with such a force that I thought surely all my teeth would just slip right out. I groaned just slightly, the only sound I had made since I this process had started. "Right, your attached to a stone wall Tessa, nice going." I grumbled blowing the now fallen stray hairs out of my eyes.

I looked up at Will's shocked face and felt bad "Sorry about the blade, instinct." I shrugged, my nose twitching as the pain hit me like a ton of bricks again. First I pointed my wrist downward so that the pain of the metal would keep my instincts at bay and then I pulled the air around the blade and lifted it up in the air, I kept my eyes on his as I slowly moved the blade, hilt towards him, towards the table again.

Suspended in the air I smiled just slightly at his confuses, dumbfounded, and speechless face. I breathed in deeply then exhaled fast as the blade flew through the air and landed deeply in my thigh exactly where it was supposed to land before I stopped it.

My eyes rolled back in my head and I slammed myself back into the wall then gripped the metal cuffs and pulled myself up by sheer determination and upper body strength I wrapped my palms back around the cuffs groaning a little louder, enough for the two guards to come inside. "What exactly are-

The younger Nephlium stopped when he saw me, holding myself up by hands, my eyes closed at ease; my bloody and still bleeding arms, neck, and face dripping silently onto the floor, my feet suspended in the air about four feet above the ground completely slaked as if I was dead. The only give away that I wasn't were my muscles in my forearms as they stretched and bulged under the pressure it took to keep me holding myself up.

I slowly opened my glowing eyes and stared at the three dumbfounded Nephliums as they stared at me in a combination of, shock, awe, fear, and respect.

"Go get Charlotte and the Enclave, now!" Will's dead monotone voice sounded through the cell as the other two guards scrambled out of the room. He turned his back to me his emotions covered again and twirled a knife around his hand looking confident and in his zone.

"Lets try this again." This time I did nothing, except for digging my palm further into the metal and wrapped my fingers more tightly around cuff.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen:

Will waited until we both heard multiple footsteps outside the door and then cracked his neck as the door swung open, and released the equally large knife. It slit through the air with ease and it's own purpose.

I set my eyes on Will; fierce determination making my eyes glow bright in the dark room alighted with witch light. The knife slid through my suspended thigh as I pulled myself higher up with a grunt so I could wrap my wet with blood, palms further onto the metal cuffs. Both my legs burned as the fire began, then spread throughout my veins, the blades magic assaulting my bloodstream, making my heart rate speed up.

"That's all you got panther." My voice was dead, the cold Tessa was taking over, the one I had spent so long to get back.

Will's eyes flashed as he sprang forward practically hovering over the ground, he pulled out his personal blade from his belt and dragged it along and bulging muscles causing a pain to spread to my aching upper forearm muscles.

He stood back concealing his shock as I only furthered my pain by digging my hands further into the metal, I wouldn't be surprised to find out I had hit bone. "I say we try that again." My lips twitched up in a smirk as he narrowed his eyes at me and stepped forward, inches away from me; glaring face to face. I hide my slight fear well.

"Why did you come to London?"

My nose twitched as cocked my head to my right side before looking into the old mans un-shocked eyes and spit my blood at his feet. He smirked and stepped forward "She came to London because she's is training, isn't that right Maji?"

I let confusion seep through my eyes as I regarded him, my eyebrows creased as "Try again."

He smiled a vicious warriors smile greedy for blood and stepped closer to me, placing his hand on Will's shoulder, Will moved to make room for him and he took his knife out of his belt and twirled it in his hands and vicious unyielding glint in his eyes. He wanted revenge; he held rage and hatred inside him.

"Don't do this." It was the firs time I begged. His smiled widened with confidence; he misunderstood. "Make him stop, I don't want to kill him!" I begged the Enclave with held no response, no sympathy.

The old man ripped open my torso with his knife and I knew exactly what he was going to do. He would carve the old symbol into me, the symbol that was the only one of there magic that could really hurt us. Forgotten knowledge. Knowledge that could kill me.

My breathing came hard as I pulled myself up as high as my forearms allowed me to go in my cuffs and let myself fall, shocked gasps filling the room as I fell a few feet before the metal cuffs cut deep into my wrists, slicing into my skin.

The old man blinked shocked and stepped back unsure again before I opened my eyes again and they showed no mercy, the last phase was complete. My Maji was showing through; I felt power coarse through my veins like I had never imagined before and felt so strong. The old man stuck out fast aiming at my torso.

"Stop!" He froze; back hunched just slightly his arm extended mere inches from my torso. Fury raged in his eyes as I my hands throbbed.

"Please." Tessa leaked through as my mind compulsion slipped away, I closed my eyes tears running down my face "I will not kill him, I will not, I will not kill him, I will not." I repeated over and over again as his blade struck my flesh al reasoning fled from my mind and the Maji returned. I speed up the cuffs erosion process; turning them to a rusty dust pile, I landed calmly on my feet sending flames through my legs from where both blades were impacted in my skin. I struck my hand straight out at the old man his body flying through the air and slamming into the wall ten feet high, he was suspended in the air.

He glared at me right to the end with hatred in his eyes. I forced the Maji down inside me releasing him carefully on his feet. I pushed my back against the wall and pulled out the two blades without flinched only making the fire spread hotter and further.

He studied me gravely while guards restrained me a little hesitant to touch me. "I'm sorry." I told him, unable to look him in the eyes.

"What are you?" He asked me while the guards gripped my burning gouged wrists.

I lifted unemotional eyes to him and spoke slowly tipping around any thing too dangerous "If I knew I would tell you." That erupted gasps from everyone but Will and the old man.

"Can you even tell the difference between your lies and the truth?" He spat at me.

"You know exactly who you are Tessa." Will said softly but hard at the same time. I did; but that didn't mean I would tell them. Maji's lived all over this world, dormant and active and we liked it this way, if I just told them everything. I would have to call Dominus; who would call his friends and their whole race would be whipped out. Dominus was not the forgiving type and he was just simmering with rage, waiting for as many dormant Maji's to awaken to he can seize control again.

"Kill her." The old man spat at me and turned to leave. The Enclave hurried after him telling Will not to do anything until Charlotte came back.

"Come here." His eyes had softened and he looked worried for a moment. He pulled off the top of a brown bottle sitting on the table and drenched both my hands in the stinging, foaming liquid. "Brother Enoch wont heal you, but maybe I can convince them to let me take you to a doctor."

"They'll heal." The words tumbled out before I could stop them and Will looked at me with a million questions in his eyes.

"Why can't you just tell us…anything?" He ripped his shirt in his anger roughly but when he wrapped it around my hands and wrists he was gentle. The fabric was soft and warm, and ironically enough it felt so good against the burning of all my exposed flesh.

"What do _you_ want to know?" I asked him as he ripped another piece of his shirt and tied it around my other hand. I could feel the skin already pulling back together again as the wounds too began to heal.

He looked at me intensely with a look in his eyes like he wanted to say something but closed up on me and asked, "What are you?"

I looked down at my hands with the cloth around them and smiled fondly at it. I caressingly dragged my finger across the soft fabric and sighed again, warm tears running down my face.

"Why were you purposely hurting yourself?"

I whipped my eyes with the back of my hand flinching at the pain it caused just to move them in the slightest bit. "I didn't want to hurt you, or stop whatever you had to do, like I did with the blade; so I caused a pain that was worse than what you could produce so as to keep me in line I guess." I shrugged groaned slightly at my aching muscles; I looked at him to see amusement in his eyes and then he laughed.

"That is the worst interrogation technique I have ever heard." He gasped out through laughs his eyes tearing up just slightly.

I smiled just slightly as he composed himself again.

"Alright since I got that much out of you, how about why are you in London?" I stared at him for a measuring moment, Dominus was the only family I had known, the human fake family I had were gone, Nate took off the London, and Gran had died without me there. Dominus had opened up this whole different world, unlocked all my memories, got rid of déjà vu feelings, turning my back on him meant turning my back on all Maji's.

"Okay fine how about something personal, like your favorite ice cream?"

I smiled grateful "Vanilla."

"Favorite drink?"

"Rum." I smirked at his expression.

"Okay, um your favorite thing to do?"

"Read, I like novels." I looked at him; he looked amused. He looked tired, and handsome, so very, very handsome. Why did he have to be so handsome? I ran the back of my finger across his check lightly wiping off some wet blood of mine and he moved in closer to me; or at least that's what it looked like to me.

I didn't have time to think about it because no sooner had I thought it was his lips on my feverish and desperately searching something. It felt intoxicating and made my whole body weak, numb, and completely alive with fire at the same time. His hands crept up my neck slowly and wrapped themselves into my hair gently the complete opposite from the kiss.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen:

All my years of experience did nothing to prepare for this moment, what did I do now, how was I suppose to keep my big secret from him if he is throwing his lips onto mine every five seconds.

Okay just breathe. Step away from him. Now.

I forced my body to take one large step back against the wall and away from his feverish body; I pulled myself up to my length and hardened my eyes toward his. "Crossing lines seems to suit you well, Nephlium."

He tensed at the use of the last words but kept that cocky smile still on his face as he fingered his silver blade, twirling it around, and around, around, around, and around again. It caught dull witch light here and there and I had to stop myself from looking at it for too long.

"You didn't stop me." He paused and took another step closer to me "In fact Downworlder, you didn't even seem to mind."

My nose wrinkled at the name and Will smiled further. "Shock." I shrugged lightly, crossing my ankles and leaning against the stonewall; my wrists were healed, minor infractions left in the once gapping flesh wounds. I twisted my wrists around several times working out the kinks and then folded myself gracefully onto the dirty, blood stained cold floor to stretch out my legs.

I slowly rolled my body over and stretch my torso so that my hands could wrap themselves around the heel of my feet. I rolled my neck and shoulders next, each cracking over the subdued pressure they were forced to bare. I folded my legs into a cross-legged position as sat completely relaxed yet hyper-aware of everything around me. I had fully awakened the dormant Maji; the burst of flame had ricocheted off of my ribcage and bounced around inside me like a snake trapped within a metal box.

I released slow and short bursts, shattering them across the world to kept Dominus busy for the a good measure of time to give me more time to…well to figure out what the hell I was going to do next. Honestly how long did I plan to keep this act up, Dominus would find me eventually, and I was steadily running out of excuses to use.

The door creaked and Charlotte stepped through her eyes sizing me up and confusion settling in them at my easy free-care attitude. "She's stretching." Will sounded annoyed.

"Must keep up my body strength for round two." I stared calmly at Charlotte who stared back unfazed. I shifted my gaze to Will who had got the hard, detached look to him again, his stance had changed from relaxed to determined again and a slight chill settled itself on the middle of my spin. How long could I keep this up before I slipped up, before I dematerialized or killed someone?

Interrogation never sounded more exciting.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen:

Charlotte walked towards the various knives, blades, and other torture instruments, some use frequently by Dominus on me, others too playful and child-like for Dominus to even consider as torture instruments. She regarded each one with a mild dislike and her ever-present respectful glare of sorts.

"Or is it Charlotte's turn?" My voice rose with excitement and she gave me a questioning and slightly bewildered glare.

She lightly balanced a lightweight silver bleed ten-inch blade in her delicate hands as she stepped forward to me "Would you like to live?"

My eyes hardened, my voice dropped, and my fingers flexed instinctively "Watch how you word your questions Ma'am."

Will tensed sensing the change in the air, Charlotte smiled, almost fondly, "I wonder." She twirled her blade between her fingers carefully but with much experience. "Is she a screamer Will?"

My lips twitched as I let my head lull back against the stonewall. "Not a sound."

"Not surprising." She seemed just slightly disappointed. "You know Luscious can be quite informative, when he," she tapped her chin lightly with the tip of the blade and a dark cloud passed over her face, a sick, admiration for the job she was about to perform. "Feels trapped."

I didn't move, I closed my eyes and felt the complexities of each stone the brought her closer to me, I wonder if I could rematerialize into someone else. Design myself into another person, become someone else. I breathed in deeply, her footsteps echoing in my mind as I pictured the man she cared for, the one she regarded fondly, her husband. I felt it then, like a shredding of my own skin, as if a hellhound was ripping off my flesh piece by piece, savoring the agony it inflicted in every one of my senses.

Charlotte's footsteps faltered and my eyes snapped open and as much precision as there was excitement. I clambered to my feet still with the grace of my extensive trainings. My eyes blazed into Charlotte's placid face and my lips quirked up in a way that made her heart race just slightly.

Her breath hitched but her face remained ever-persistently devoid of any emotion, her eyes revealed everything. "Something wrong my dear?" I pushing her perfectly sculpted buttons, yes, but I had to admit, being able to be someone else would prove to be very useful. I wonder if Dominus can do this also?

A brief memory flitted into my mind, a dream of my brother moving away to London, I had at first thought it was a vision because that was what Dominus had told me it was. Anger, pain, and extreme sorrow welled up inside me clinging to any nerve cell it could as I tried to push it down deep where the rest of my unwanted emotions stay carefully wrapped away in silk bows.

I shook my head and let Charlotte husband's body slip off of my like running lava. I shook my head again at the revelation I had just been thrust upon, Dominus knows the only thing more important to me is keeping my family safe; my family is Nate.

What better way to get me to subdue, to get me to cooperate than to tell me I was a danger to him and that he hadn't even blinked an eye when I went missing, instead he left Grandma in the hands of a elders home and took off the London. I should have known!

The vision didn't hurt, not as much as the pain of betrayal and loneliness did, I didn't question anything Dominus did after that, I lost everything that had kept me mortal. I was a faithful and perfect subject, I worked hard and long to get everything right to please Dominus until he I learned he would never be pleased until I was awaken and restored to what I once was. And he hated that I could never understand what that meant.

My eyes blazed with newfound fury towards Dominus. I dragged my eyes from the floor, the temperature rising in a noticeable uncomfortable way that edged into your bones and set lit a fire inside you, boiling your sense alive.

My glare sunk into Charlotte and she withered under it "It is time to take my leave Madam." My voice had dropped cold and sent chills that seemed to sizzle in this tiny oven of a room.

"I-You are a prisoner of the Enclave." Her voice strained to maintain authority under my dark and dangerous glare.

I stepped closer, he feet twitched as to step back but I kept them in place by dragging the elements of the stones up and around Charlottes feet and casing her in a invisible stone force field. I breathed in to calm myself slightly, redirecting my flaring energy around different over-heated parts of my body. I desperately need the cold city smog-filled air to sooth me, to re-gain control over my emotions.

"Charlotte you need to listen very carefully." I paused to steady her heart rate as he leaped with every word, in a rather unhealthy and un-stable way. "I will hurt you." Each word was punctured with a fierce determination that made my inside rationality flinch at the harsh unyielding and unforgiving fury of my voice. "Far worse that you can possibly imagine, I am not a fan of mind compulsion so please do not test my temper."

Will moved seeming to snap out of the hazy daze of the heat on the room. He unsheathed his knife and faster than any human could reattach he lunged towards me.

However, I am no human, never have been, never will be.

That is an unfortunate mistake they seem to continually make, and even more the mistake will cost a life.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen:

I slid my glace over to Will's form and narrowed my eyes just slightly, my mind running in that high speed that sets my nerves on hyper-drive. I stepped backwards quickly, ducked to my knees within less than a second and waited a couple more seconds for the right time. I ran the tips of my fingers along the pile of rusted copper from the shackles that once held me and closed my eyes.

"Rendemento para min, permitan-me a manexar ti."1 I couldn't remember the last time I had used Galician magic or had been put in the predicament to be able to, it was quite fun actually. I couldn't help the smile that slowly spread across my face as the magic took to the copper, wrapping itself into the form of a shiny 10-inch blade with a dulled edge, enough to break skin, but not enough to wound.

I braced my left foot against the stonewall closing my eyes I rolled my neck and sensed Will's rushed movement, while also slowing my racing mind. I contracted my right foot just slightly and gripped my sword as I shoved off the wall meeting Will's raised blade with my copper one.

The sound of clanking metal screeched in my ears and I involuntarily flinched, Will mis-took this as a sign of weakness and grinned in confidence. I swung my right leg out in front of me shifting my balance easily to my left and hooked it around the back of his left ankle, making him lose his hard stance just slightly. I let go of my sword and let it clatter to the floor as I twisted the fibers of the air beneath my feet and levitated myself quickly off the ground, high enough in the air so I could grab hold of Will's shoulders and twist them in a painful unexpected way that made him drop to the floor on his knees.

I released the air fibers holding me six feet in the air above Will and dropped soundlessly to my feet, next to him. I stretched my arm out toward my sword and silently called it to me. "I just need to go for a walk." I said quietly as I turned away from them and stepped toward the thick wooden door. Will's left shoulder was dislocated and his right was close to follow the lefts suit, his ankle was throbbing and my emotions were running on high thanks to all the excess powers inside me.

I could feel the pain he was shoving down inside him as much as I could feel Charlotte's helplessness. It was overriding my own senses and in consequence it was slowly driving me insane, the one gift I have that no one other Maji has. I can sense and manipulate anyone's emotions, mortal or not, however, I despised the 'gift' and choose to not tell Dominus that I had ever awakened it.

As soon as my heated hand touched the metal latch on the prison door I flinched at my heat and the senses I absorbed; you see I didn't just feel peoples emotions, I absorbed them, it didn't matter whether they were dead or alive, if I came in connect with anything that held a strong emotional connection I relived there emotions, rather vividly not to mention.

I snapped my fingers, metal crunched; the doorknob buckled, and with my palm held out flat to the metal door's hinges they crushed inward. The loud sound of crushing metal as the door flew straight, embedding a solider who stood watch just outside in the cement wall voiced my escape.

I let my instincts travel me through the dim halls feeling the nostril flaring presence of the healer push onto me, like sludge _do not test me vermin._ My mind was a coiling strand of hot iron wrapping itself around the healer and compressing. It was all I could do but keep my feet moving; my body strung taut as a bow, mind buzzing with forgotten memories, heart singing with burning loyalties. Revenge sung to me, the way blood sings to a vampire, the force of my retreat nearly came to a halt with the pressure of it all.

I slipped soundlessly into a small room as the noise of rushing feet came towards me letting myself drift into the fibers was not ideal in the situation but I was far too tired to bother escaping the rough way so I drifted, every part of me being ripped apart as I lost solid form and disappeared.

1 "Rendemento para min, permitan-me a manexar ti." Translates from Galician to English meaning: "Yield to me, allow me to wield you."


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen:

I never much cared for the sun.

I preferred nice cloudy days, a chance at pelting rain to beat against my face as I walked aimlessly. Dominus said it was because I was always reckless, I liked thunderstorms because lightning was reckless. See, I was never one for direction either, which is why Dominus always said I was his right hand and not the ruler. Because though I could see the future, I could never much plan a solid plan, one that would go off without a hitch. It had made sense once; then again enslaving an entire populous based on racial inferiority _had_ made sense once too. Just look how that ended for those Yankees.

Dominus always told me what I was, and because I had memories of him beside me on a battle field, because I remembered him saving my life, I never questioned his perception of me. Dominus does like to lie just not to his own so I took his word and never questioned it. But if my brother were to be found to be alive; well then Dominus would just have to see how much of a leader I could be; when _my_ own is toyed with.

I was somewhere in the world, on a beach where the sun was placed high in the sky, bright and forlornly just dangling there above my head as if it had nothing better to do but to be careless and leisure. I know what my brother would say if he were with me, he'd say there was no time to sulk around like an infant, that exploration must be saw to first. The thought of exploring the vastness that was the mass of swaying green palm trees and large leafy plant-things made my head spin.

So I stayed in the hot, white sand my hair a tangled; half-pinned half-cascading in mess of red fury. I watched the sun until I saw black then closed my eyes until the white of the sun vanished behind my eyelids. The sting of the rays being the only source of gravity I had left. After a while the constant beating of heat seemed to me to be a mockery, just as the sun mocked me as it slowly sunk down into the blue water creating red ripples across the sky. Everything seemed to mock me here, the white clouds, the yellow sun, the clear blue water, the large leafy plants, everything told me I didn't belong. Screamed leave.

The large blades of leafs that is sewn together could wrap me as a woolen blanket would seem to all mimic each other in there echoed hatred of me, berated me with there slew of verbal assaults against my person: _You are disrupting this place with your un-holiness, with your mass of sorrow you shrewd us, suffocate the peace. _So I left.

London was a mess of thick grey fog, men with smoking pipes, women in tightly constricted waistbands and the soft warning of misting rain. I breathed in the smell of London's fog, it's warning of a storm soaking into my bones relaxing the rushing nerves and seemingly bursting blood cells inside of me. It been God knew how long since I'd been gone, nights and days on that beach began to burn together into a string of eyelash blinks and self-pathetic-pity.

I still had yet to form a plan. The bloody marvelous ruler I am. _Watch out for Tess or the sheer brilliancy of her plan formation will send you quivering like mice._

It briefly occurred to me to go back to Dominus, to demand my brothers return, to torture it out of him, but one does not single-handedly torture and successfully capture the ruler of the Maji's now do they.

I was left to the plan of walking aimlessly hoping a sudden storm would befall me, and fall it did. Sheets and sheets of heavy rain fell on hunched in shoulder blades, the sound of my ticking feet across the cobblestones never once faltered in my pursuit of nothingness. Soon it grew tiresome, the sun stretched into red which faded to pink giving way to the black of twilight where London's onslaught of lights changed the entire air of the city, pulsing it with the fever and grace of a dying thunderstorm.

A group of men bustled out of a tavern, cheeks flushed and eyes alit with alcohol. I pushed the oak door open and held my chin high as I took a seat next to a startled aristocrat, my eyes slid over to the corner of the dust damp tavern where I saw the most interesting thing. A familiar face, the young handsome vampire had the palest skin I've seen in years and the straightest jaw-line you could image.

I crossed the creaking floorboards fluidly, shoulders back, eyes glinting, and fingers twitching "Charles." His black eyes slid to acknowledge the women's voice and blinked when they took in my appearance. The two women on either side of the vampire seemed unhappy when I dragged a rather abnormally and unnecessarily loud screeching chair to their table. Charles gave a subtle flinch at the noise and I smiled folding myself into the chair gracefully. "Fancy finding you here."

The frown lining his ancient face nearly made me grin "Fancy." His shock was thinly hidden behind his amusement. "Glad to see the rumors have been put to rest." His lips quirked, pale long piano playing fingers grasped my hand softly to kiss the still damp knuckles. "Still enjoy walking in the rain." Another twitch of a smile.

"I need you to find a man for me." I placed my elbow on the shabby table neatly resting my chin on top of the kissed knuckles.

His shock was not betrayed by the inward folding of his lips but I could feel it coursing through him. "I have taken a queen you know." The simple way he could brush off my request made it clear how much things have changed.

"Charles." If he flinched it was only a tick of a movement, he'd grown since our last encounter. Granted that encounter had nearly led to our deaths two thousand years ago.

"Your favors have not a valor to them anymore my dearest." My head tipped back as that tinkling laugh escaped my throat. His fingers trailed lightly up my arm to my jaw line where they stilled for a brief moment then dropped like dead weight to the cut crystal wine glass on the table. His old eyes were black, bottomless and intensely set on comprehending my sudden appearance.

"Loyalties to old relics my dear." I paused, tilted his glass to my nose smelling the pungent odor of fresh blood, and kept his eyes locked with mine as I let the crystal slip out of my fingers and onto the dirty floor. This time at the sound of shattering glass Charles did flinch and when he flinched I took the opportune moment to clutch the back of his neck bringing his young handsome face inches away from mine. "Never lose their valor."


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen:

"Give me the name." Charles bared his teeth in a vicious sort of way I didn't much appreciate, so I dug my nails into the white flesh that settled the base of his neck. I could not be held accountable for the things my limbs did when annoyed, one must understand these things, mustn't they?

"Good to see I still have a friend left from the old days." My voice was a tumbled-tried jumble of dry paper-smooth words and my fingers twitched however slightly before relenting. After the connection of his surrender made its way to the part of my brain that was currently a stockpile of stacked steel on railway freight-cars, which I imagined was guarded and processed by a nice strapping lanky man whom unloaded at his ever glacier-slow will influxes of my recognition.

His left eye scrunched up, a nervous tick often associated when provoked into annoyance, Charles's fingers flitted ever-caressingly over the four tiny wounds. "Tessa!" He groaned out sounding very much like a petulant child "I'll have a scar now." His up-turned face glared at me in a way I was all too familiar with.

"Oh, Charlie honestly don't be a child. You've had worse."

His eyes narrowed "We are in a time of tense peace." Ever the great Rhetor in his greased black hair, velveteen hard-hat, and quirky shiny-smile. "Your presence is not going to be accepted willingly. Are you alone?" I laughed that damnable tinkling laugh I couldn't seem to shake as of late, patting the back of his neck it healed, he glowered unimpressed, and seemingly un-touched by my as I thought it was quite charming 'white-flag'.

"Come now Charlie don't be sour." My dimples stretched my face back just long enough for this native navigator of feminine wiles to crumble beneath them. "Right good sport, all fun and games and know-how, so what's the plan, and who's the who I've got the pay the debt to?" The prattling of my words began to spiral and with it went the loss of my diction. I did so despise rhyming, and it seems to happen so often lately, quite unfair if you ask me I hadn't had the tick in my prior life.

Charles stared at me, much like a cat would a dog or a banker would a loan-shark before he burst out laughing and hugged me. And I do say it was a proper sort of unwelcome grandesque engagement that swept the tatters of my skirt-ends up three inches from the ground whilst stealing the breath from my lungs and the shock right out from under my startlement.

_Of – of all the nerve! The-the harloqen! Can men be called that? No. The bloke then the wretch. _ My mind seemed to slowly come to terms with be touched – as I held quite an aversion to the prospect of such acts I tended to avoid them at all costs and so wasn't prepared for it ever happening – just as my feet slowly came back to the ground.

Two steps made far too wide and far too fast to be made by a human took me away from this now imposing and frightfully, somehow threatening man and brought my back straight into the wooden thatched door bolt of the bar, which I hardly felt begin to form its welt on my spine. Hands I hardly recognized as my own shot forward and in four rigid movements downwards brushed clouds of sand off of me in plumbs, which was no comment on Charles's hygiene because safe to say was quite immaculate, but more due to my prior sun-bathing.

Exhale, in, out, repeat. "I would ask you not to do that or such – such acts along those lines again Charlie." My lips pulled tight into a line that I hoped conveyed some semblance of a smile for the poor man looked rather doltish ringing his hands to-and-fro like dirty-sopping kitchen towelettes.

"Come, come Charlie all forgiven and forgotten. It's really quite an odd and newly acquired tick I've come across you couldn't have known. Now off with the plan you've got in that rhetoric head of yours."

His back stiffened, posture straightened and just like that, reminding him of his former profession seemed to shake out of him this impish-pathetic-ness that had captured the air around us.

_His plan, not yours, always the first hand never the ruler._

I flinched most notably apparently because Charles's paper-forehead crinkled in curiousness. He'd never known me to be hurt or rather if on the rare occasions I was hurt, he'd never known me to show the physical strain.

Still Dominus' words swirled like angry vultures, picking at my skin, plucking away my confidence _his plan…always the first hand._ God damned him.


End file.
